It's a Damn Cold Night or Morning
by LaPantouflarde
Summary: Robin and his son, Roland, are shivering from the cold when their apartment's fire alarm went off and they were left to go outside and wait for the all-clear from the firemen. Regina saves the day with a warm blanket and smiles.


"Daddy, I'm cold."

Grabbing a coat – or a blanket – wasn't the first thing on his mind when he heard the fire alarm go off at three in the bloody morning. He wished it was, because now his son was in his arms, shivering, as they waited for the firemen to make sure that the building was safe.

He lowered his son to the ground and started to take his t-shirt off so he could wrap it around Roland. He would only have a wife-beater on but he'd rather be cold than let his son freeze. His shirt was almost off of him when he felt a hand on his arm.

"Would you like to share my blanket?"

He stilled his movements. He'd recognize that voice anywhere – of course he would. He's been hearing her voice every day for the past year. Her voice was the first thing he heard every morning when he woke up. Her voice was something he looked forward to every single day… and she didn't even know about it. Her bathroom and his bedroom shared a wall, and it just so happened that he could hear her singing while she took a shower.

This was the first time he was seeing her and he was completely mesmerized. He couldn't look away. He was always picturing a beautiful face whenever he heard her sing, but nothing prepared him for this… He could feel his heart beating fast as she stared at him, waiting for his answer. Oh, right, she asked him a question…

His son, however, didn't wait for him to respond. She opened her arms when she realized that Roland was heading towards her. And once his son was beside her, she kneeled down and wrapped the blanket around them both.

Roland snuggled closer to the woman and sighed contently, "Your blanket smells nice."

She laughed and nodded, "Doesn't it?"

Roland then turned to him, "Come on, daddy!" he called. "We can share Miss Mills' blanket!"

Miss Mills? Robin's eyes widened. Did Roland meet this woman already? Surely, he would have known about it, right?

The woman – Miss Mills, apparently – must have sensed his shock, because she smiled up at him. "I don't think we've met yet," she started. "I'm Regina Mills, Roland's music teacher at Mist Haven Elementary."

She's a music teacher.

Somehow, it made Robin want to smile – but he stopped himself, because the last thing he wanted was for Regina to think he was strange.

"I'm Robin Locksley," he held out his hand for a handshake, and now he wanted to smack some sense back into himself because she couldn't really shake his hand since there was a blanket wrapped around her and his son. He tried to cover it up by running his hand through his hair instead. "I, uh, thanks for…" he pointed towards Roland. "That."

"Daddy! Come join us so you're not cold!"

Oh, bless his son.

As much as he would like that, he didn't want to intrude. Besides, he doubted that Regina would want a stranger to be that close to her. He was about to refuse when she stretched out an arm and beckoned him over.

"There's room for one more," she offered.

"Oh, no." He shook his head and gave her a grateful smile. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"Nonsense," she said. "I really don't mind."

But before he could even say yes, he heard a cheer from the crowd. "Alright, folks!" one fireman yelled. "The coast is all clear! It was a false alarm and everyone can go back inside!"

Damn.

Robin didn't know if he should be happy that he could finally go back to bed, or be disappointed that he wouldn't be able to share the warmth Regina was offering.

"Regina, do you want to have some hot chocolate with me and daddy?" his son suddenly blurted out. "Daddy makes the best ones! He puts chocolate in them!"

Regina was caught off guard by the offer, but gave Roland an apologetic smile. "I can't tonight, sweetheart. I have an early day tomorrow."

Roland's smile faltered, "Okay."

"But," she quickly added. "I'd be happy to have some hot chocolate another time. We'll set up a day when all we do is drink hot chocolate! How does that sound?"

Roland nodded enthusiastically and wished her a good night before giving her a tight hug around the neck.

"I guess you owe us a drink, m'lady." Robin smirked as Roland stood beside him and held his hand. "I'm… _We're_ looking forward to it."

Regina only smiled at them before walking back into the building.


End file.
